Traffic stops for a train at Benton Road at U.S. Highway 80 in Bossier City. No train companies have been cited for blocking intersections in Shreveport and Bossier City in the past five years.

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Shreveport and Bossier City police have issued zero violations to train companies in the past five years.

Doing so would be a useless exercise, Bossier-Webster Assistant District Attorney Lane Pittard said. He argued and lost a case against Kansas City Southern a few years ago. The ruling was correct, Pittard said, because federal law makes it impossible to enforce state law.

Louisiana law begins issuing penalties for the unexcused blocking of intersections by trains starting after the first 20 minutes. Fines at the 20-minute mark start at $200 and max out in excess of 45 minutes at $5,000. ...